Obama invites Romney to the White House for lunch (PHOTO)

WASHINGTON - Bitter campaign foes just weeks ago, President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are sharing lunch at the White House with an eye on overlapping interests rather than the sharp differences that defined their presidential contest.

In their first meeting since the election, Obama and the Republican nominee are to meet in the White House's private dining room Thursday, fulfilling a promise Obama made in his victory speech the night of Nov. 6.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said Obama had no specific agenda for the meeting, but he said the president would like to discuss Romney's ideas for making government more efficient. Obama has proposed merging some functions of government related to business and has asked Congress for authority to undertake some executive branch reorganization.

"The president noted that Gov. Romney did a terrific job running the Olympics and that that skills set lends itself to ideas that could make the federal government work better, which is a passion of the president's," Carney said.